Review of Best of Santana
By Mark Lonergan
Cue the congas. And the timbales. And just about any other percussion
instrument you can think of. This is Santana, folks, and this is how they do it.
There is none of the overblown production that you hear in so much of today’s
recordings. There is only music, pure and simple.
The CD kicks off with a pair of tracks from their first album, “Jingo” and
“Evil Ways.” Carlos Santana wrote neither song, but they demonstrate what is
often true of virtuoso instrumentalists: they are better players than they are
writers. They also showcase the rock-solid musicianship of the other band
members. Hearing these tracks will make clear the reason Santana was such a
breakthrough act at 1969’s Woodstock festival. These men tapped into some
basic, primal, spiritual thing inside all people and expressed it through music.
Other classics are Santana’s covers of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” and
Fleetwood Mac’s (!) “Black Magic Woman.” By far, though, the wildest track
on the album is “She’s Not There.” How Santana managed to take a slightly
lethargic, if catchy, song by Brit-invasion has-beens The Zombies and turn it
into a phenomenal piece of rock and roll is beyond me. When it plays on your car
stereo, crank the volume, push the needle on the speedometer up past 80 or so
and just cruise. Life doesn’t get much better than when you’re listening to
music this good.
However, like any greatest hits collection, there are some odd song choices on
this CD. “Open Invitation” off of 1978’s Inner Secrets sounds like
a cock-rock-wannabe rip off of the Blue Oyster Cult. All I have to say is,
“Why Carlos? Why?” Along with the occasional less-than-good song, there is
the disturbing absence of Gregg Rolie tunes on this album. For all that he
contributed during his six years with the group, it’s a shame not to see such
old concert faves as “Persuasion” on Best of.
All in all, though, this is a decent CD. If you are one of the 21 million people
who purchased Supernatural and want to hear sampling of what Santana –
the man and the band – has done over the past thirty years, this is the place
to start. So head down to your local Mega Lo Mart, buy this CD, and start
burning copies for all your … umm, ‘personal use.’
Mood:
Chillin'
Hear it?:
Burn the CD
